Corporate Purpose

Originally published in 1999 after a decade of research and extensive interviews with some of Toyota's top executives, this book examines organizational purpose: what it is, how it is crafted, how does it relate to strategy and objectives and how does it relate to decisions and actions that ultimately produce organizational results. The author explains why Toyoto Motor Corporation was selected to study corporate purpose and examines the various factors that influence purpose. An overview is given of Toyota in the 1990s and its operating environment, particularly outlining the importance of the Japanes motor industry to Japanese society. Operational objectives of Toyota are analyzed and research findings, data and analysis related to Toyota's purpose are presented and the implications described. In the appendix, the detail of the research methodology of this study is included.

This insightful Research Handbook contributes to the theoretical and practical understanding of corporate purpose and personhood, which has become the central debate of corporate law. It provides cutting-edge thoughts on the role of corporations in society and the nature of their rights and responsibilities.

Thinkers50 Top 10 Best New Management Books for 2022 A distinguished Harvard Business School professor offers a compelling reassessment and defense of purpose as a management ethos, documenting the vast performance gains and social benefits that become possible when firms manage to get purpose right. Few business topics have aroused more skepticism in recent years than the notion of corporate purpose, and for good reason. Too many companies deploy purpose, or a reason for being, as a promotional vehicle to make themselves feel virtuous and to look good to the outside world. Some have only foggy ideas about what purpose is and conflate it with strategy and other concepts like “mission,” “vision,” and “values.” Even well-intentioned leaders don’t understand purpose’s full potential and engage half-heartedly and superficially with it. Outsiders spot this and become cynical about companies and the broader capitalist endeavor. Having conducted extensive field research, Ranjay Gulati reveals the fatal mistakes leaders unwittingly make when attempting to implement a reason for being. Moreover, he shows how companies can embed purpose much more deeply than they currently do, delivering impressive performance benefits that reward customers, suppliers, employees, shareholders, and communities alike. To get purpose right, leaders must fundamentally change not only how they execute it but also how they conceive of and relate to it. They must practice what Gulati calls deep purpose, furthering each organization’s reason for being more intensely, thoughtfully, and comprehensively than ever before. In this authoritative, accessible, and inspiring guide, Gulati takes readers inside some of the world’s most purposeful companies to understand the secrets to their successes. He explores how leaders can pursue purpose more deeply by navigating the inevitable tradeoffs more deliberately and effectively to balance between short- and long-term value; building purpose more systematically into every key organizational function to mobilize stakeholders and enhance performance; updating organizations to foster more autonomy and collaboration, which in turn allow individual employees to work more purposefully; using powerful storytelling to communicate a reason for being, arousing emotions and building a community of inspired and committed stakeholders; and building cultures that don’t merely support purpose, but also allow employees to link the corporate purpose to their own personal reasons for being. As Gulati argues, a deeper engagement with purpose holds the key not merely to the well-being of individual companies but also to humanity’s future. With capitalism under siege and relatively low levels of trust in business, purpose can serve as a radically new operating system for the enterprise, enhancing performance while also delivering meaningful benefits to society. It’s the kind of inspired thinking that businesses—and the rest of us—urgently need.

Originally published in 1999 after a decade of research and extensive interviews with some of Toyota's top executives, this book examines organizational purpose: what it is, how it is crafted, how does it relate to strategy and objectives and how does it relate to decisions and actions that ultimately produce organizational results. The author explains why Toyoto Motor Corporation was selected to study corporate purpose and examines the various factors that influence purpose. An overview is given of Toyota in the 1990s and its operating environment, particularly outlining the importance of the Japanes motor industry to Japanese society. Operational objectives of Toyota are analyzed and research findings, data and analysis related to Toyota's purpose are presented and the implications described. In the appendix, the detail of the research methodology of this study is included.

This Element is an attempt to contribute to the extant literature on boards and corporate governance by exploring in detail the active involvement of the board in the purpose and strategy of the corporation in order to cope with a complex and uncertain environment.

Corporate purpose has become a global phenomenon in recent years. Increasingly, businesses are expected to 'produce profitable solutions to the problems of people and planet, and not to profit from producing problems for people or planet' (World Economic Forum). However, the literature on how companies can build purpose into their corporate DNA is still very nascent.This book, first of its kind, focuses on how companies in Asia are building purpose into their journey. It contains case studies of companies and their current journey to become more purpose driven, why they do it, and how they did it.

Are purpose and profit in conflict, or can both be achieved simultaneously with the right mindset and tools? What are the forces that are reshaping the relationship between the two? What can we all do to strengthen the relationship between purpose and profit as entrepreneurs, managers, employees, consumers, and investors? Backed by cutting-edge research, Purpose and Profit provides answers to these fundamental questions that are increasingly defining the business landscape all around the world. Distinguished Harvard Business School Professor George Serafeim takes readers on a research-driven journey to understand: How and why environmental and social issues are becoming increasingly relevant for organizations worldwide; The ways that companies can design and implement strategies that generate greater impact; The six archetypes of value creation enabled by these new trends; The role of investors in driving greater recognition of ESG issues; and How we can all look at the choices we make and careers we pursue in a way that maximizes purpose and profit in our own lives.

An exploration of corporate purpose - a company's expressed overriding reason for existing - and its effect upon strategy, executive leadership, employees, and ultimately, on competitive performance. It argues that the path to financial success lies in a customer-focused corporate purpose.